OLYMPIA - Migrating sandhill cranes, fishing opportunities across the state and hummingbirds at backyard bird feeders all herald the arrival of spring.
Thousands of sandhill cranes, tundra swans, ducks, geese and other birds are back in Washington, at least temporarily in their migrations north. Perhaps most celebrated among these spring spectacles is the concentration of up to 15,000 sandhill cranes in the Columbia Basin of northcentral Washington. Neither binoculars nor long hikes are needed to enjoy these 4-foot-tall, prehistoric-looking birds with 7-foot wingspans- they're literally a roadside attraction in the farm fields around the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge south of Moses Lake in Grant, Adams and Franklin counties. The annual Sandhill Crane Festival, scheduled March 26-28, celebrates the birds' migratory stop-over. Details of festival events and activities are available at http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/.
As the seasons change, so do the fishing options available to anglers. Just as the winter blackmouth season is nearing the home stretch in several areas, new fisheries for everything from lingcod to rainbow trout are opening in waters around the state. On the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, Kalaloch Beach will be open for a three-day razor clam dig March 18-20 on evening tides. An additional stretch of the lower Columbia River has recently opened for spring chinook fishing. In eastern Washington, hatchery steelhead fishing is now heating up in the mid-Columbia River and on Snake River tributaries such as the Tucannon and the Touchet rivers.
Steelhead fishing is also coming on strong in north coast rivers, where wild fish now make up a majority of the catch. On the Hoh River, which was virtually unfishable due to cloudy water conditions during the early part of the season, nearly one in two anglers were catching fish in mid-March. Catch rates were even better on the Sol Duc, where two out of three anglers have been finding success.
A statewide moratorium on retention of wild steelhead approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take effect May 1, rather than April 1 as indicated earlier. Consistent with the commission's plan, the moratorium will require anglers to release any wild (unmarked) steelhead statewide for two full fishing seasons.
This month is the recreation licensing "season;" as the recreational license year ends March 31, and new 2004 fishing and hunting licenses and WDFW property access permits will be needed as of April 1. With some fishing seasons underway and much more to come in late April, fishers, especially, are in need of new licenses now. Wildlife viewers who use WDFW water access sites or wildlife areas to enjoy spring migratory birds or other wildlife will also need to renew their access permits in the form of motor vehicle decals. And spring turkey and bear hunters are required to have current hunting licenses for their upcoming seasons. All licenses and permits are available from hundreds of license vendors across the state, listed by county on WDFW's website, or by on-line purchase at http://www.greatlodge.com/. Due to WDFW staffing budget cuts last summer, licenses are no longer sold at WDFW offices.
Current recreational opportunities across the state include:
North Puget Sound:
- Fishing: Blackmouth anglers are running out of time to hook into one of these hard-fighting salmon. Fishing has been slow throughout the region, with occasional hook-ups of fish weighing anywhere from seven pounds up into the high teens. Bait or lures can be mooched around bottom "structure," such as rock piles and shelves, or other locations where baitfish are concentrated. If big bait balls aren't evident, the best option might be to switch to spoons or imitation squid (green or white seem to work best) behind a flasher and troll close to the bottom. Blackmouth fishing closes March 31 in marine areas 7 and 8-1, while the season in Marine Area 8-2 runs through April 10. Marine Area 9 is open to blackmouth fishing through April 15. With the fishing action nearly over on marine waters, anglers might want to start focusing on their favorite lake for trout. Some year-round lakes in the region all received plants of catchable trout recently, including Angle, Beaver, Green and Meridian lakes in King County. Each lake got between 3,000 and 5,000 hatchery trout, while Gissburg Ponds in Snohomish County had a plant of 2,400 trout. Check out the Internet for updates on the trout-planting schedule. Anglers have been finding some good insect hatches during those rare mild, calm days of late winter. Pass Lake, always a favorite spot for catch-and-release flyfishing, can yield big trout to anglers who like to fish from float tubes or rowboats. The lake is open year-round to catch-and-release and flyfishing only. Motors are prohibited on Pass Lake. The Skagit River opens April 1 for trout, Dolly Varden and other game fish from the mouth upstream to the Memorial Highway Bridge (Hwy 536 in Mount Vernon). Steelhead fishing will remain closed on the river. Anglers going after game fish must fish under selective gear rules, however it will be lawful to fish from a motorized vessel. Remember that new annual fishing licenses will be needed beginning April 1. Licenses are sold at hundreds of outlets throughout the state, and online through WDFW. Check the Department's licensing page on the Internet.
- Wildlife viewing: Spring officially begins March 20, and there are already a number of signs throughout the region that warmer days and better weather are on their way. For starters, there have been regular sightings of hummingbirds feeding at early-blooming plant blossoms. Look for these tiny, brightly colored birds at flowering salmonberry, red flowering currant, or black twinberry. Fill hummingbird feeders with a simple nectar recipe of four parts boiling water to one part refined sugar. Leftover nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, and be sure to get into the habit of carefully rinsing the feeder between fillings. If possible, hang feeders in the shade - the nectar will last longer if it's not exposed to hours of direct sunlight. At the other end of the animal size spectrum, gray whales have again been sighted in Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage near Everett. Sharp-eyed observers have been spotting grays in this part of Puget Sound for many years as the big whales slowly move through our area during their annual migration from winter breeding grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds in Alaska. Brant geese, another migrant visitor to the region, gets their own festival every year. The second-annual Washington Brant Festival is set for April 17-18 in Blaine and Birch Bay. The festival was established last year to raise awareness of the small maritime goose that feeds almost exclusively in eelgrass beds. Habitat loss and disturbance are two major factors affecting brant populations. More information on brant geese and the festival is available on the Internet. Approximately 60 tree swallows were seen swooping and diving over Tennant Lake near Ferndale, according to a birder who reported the sighting to the Tweeters birding website on the Internet. Tree swallows are typically the first swallows to return to our region and like to nest in tree cavities near water, where they can be seen swooping low and skimming just above the surface in search of flying insects. Peregrine falcon activity is heating up in downtown Seattle. It's been 18 years since the speedy birds were first observed wintering in the city, where they found a plentiful food supply in the form of pigeon and starling flocks. Falcons have been successfully breeding downtown since 1994, and sightings seem to be increasing every year. Falcons are now frequently seen near the West Seattle bridge, the grain terminal along the downtown Seattle waterfront, the Ballard bridge, and in the Renton-Tukwila area. Check out the Seattle Peregrine Project website on the Internet for more information.
Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:
- Fishing: Options abound during the last two weeks of March, starting with a three-day razor clam dig on evening tides March 18-20 at Kalaloch Beach in Olympic National Park. Closed since December due to elevated toxin levels, Kalaloch has now been cleared for digging by the Washington Department of Health and is the only beach scheduled to open razor clams this month. "We see this dig at Kalaloch this as a chance to make up for lost ground," said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. Low afternoon tides during the three-day dig are as follows: March 18, 4:52 p.m. (+0.1); March 19, 5:35 p.m. (+0.1) and March 20, 6:14 p.m. (+0.3). No digging will be allowed before noon- which leaves plenty of time to go fishing for lingcod. Anglers have reported good catches of lingcod since the fishery opened March 16 in Marine Areas 1-3 (Columbia River to Cape Alava). Creel checks in Westport found that 219 anglers surveyed had brought in 217 legal-sized lings over 24 inches in length. (The daily bag limit is two fish.) They also reported releasing about half that many sub-legals, a sign that tighter controls on fishing seasons over the past three years are paying off, said Greg Bargmann, WDFW marine fish manager. "We should see even better catches in future years as long as everybody throws the little ones back," Bargmann said. Of course, most anglers fishing for lingcod also bring aboard a fair number of rockfish to round out their catch. The daily limit is 10 rockfish; only one canary rockfish and no yelloweye may be retained. Blackmouth fishing has generally been slow in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but anglers are still finding plenty of steelhead on the north coast rivers. For the weekend of March 13, the Sol Duc River gave up 0.69 steelhead per angler, while the catch rate averaged 0.38 fish per angler on the Bogachiel/Quillayute and Calawah combined. Of the 196 anglers checked on the Lower Hoh River, 81 had caught wild steelhead for an average of 0.41 per angler. The Upper Hoh was even better with a 0.63 average catch rate. A majority of the steelhead now being caught on those rivers are wild fish. A statewide moratorium on retention of wild steelhead approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take effect May 1, rather than April 1 as indicated earlier. Consistent with the commission's plan, the moratorium will require anglers to release any wild (unmarked) steelhead statewide for two full fishing seasons. Finally, clam diggers will be able to take advantage of new harvest opportunities opening up at several popular beaches in Puget Sound beginning April 1. Due in large part to improvements in area clam populations, WDFW recently authorized additional digging at six beaches from Potlatch to Port Townsend. By those actions:
- All three clamming beaches near Potlatch in Mason County will open to clam digging April 1 and remain open through June 15. Those beaches include Potlatch State Park, Potlatch East and Potlatch DNR tidelands.
- South Indian Island County Park in Jefferson County will open April 1 and remain open through June 30. In addition, the adjacent beach at Port Townsend Ship Canal/Portage Canal, originally scheduled to close for digging April 30, will remain open through May 31.
Brown Point (DNR 57-B), previously scheduled to close to clam digging April 15, will remain open through June 30.
- WDFW extended the recreational clamming season at Fort Flagler State Park by two weeks, but delayed the opening date from April 1 until April 15 to extend the digging season through "Free Fishing Weekend" on June 12-13. The season at Fort Flagler will run from April 15 through June 15.
- Wildlife viewing: For some area birdwatchers, spring arrives with the first sighting of a rufous hummingbird buzzing in from Mexico. Others rely on the honking of migrating geese or the chorusing of Pacific tree frogs to tell them the seasonal change is near. But for those who need substantial proof that spring is finally here, the word is out that gray whales are now passing along the Washington coast on their way north from the calving grounds in Baja. "A crabber told me yesterday he saw a bunch of whales on the way back from the fishing grounds," said the owner of one Westport charterboat service that offers whale-watching trips. "We'll start our whale-watching trips in the next week or two," she said. In fact, the Westport-Grayland Chamber of Commerce lists a half-dozen charter services that offer whale-watching trips during March and April. (See listings on the Chamber's website at http://www.ghonline.com/westport.htm or call (800) 345-6223 for more information.) Averaging 40 to 45 feet in length and weighing up to 50 tons, adult gray whales are twice the size of a killer whale and about half the length of a blue whale. The best way to spot one - from land or sea - is to look for "spouts" that can reach 10 to 12 feet in the air when the behemoths exhale. At this time of year, they can often be spotted two miles off the mouth of Grays Harbor with their calves in tow. While your surest bet for seeing a whale is to charter a trip with a trained skipper, they can also be observed from headlands from Cape Alava to Cape Disappointment. Once hunted to near extinction, gray whale populations have rebounded since the mid-1940s under national and international protection. In general, boaters should avoid disturbing whales and should never get closer than 100 yards from them. Other guidelines for responsible whale-watching are spelled out in a brochure published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and available in a pdf format on the Internet.
Southwest Washington:
- Fishing: Spring chinook fishing is improving on the lower Columbia River and most of the catches so far have been by boat anglers, reports Joe Hymer, regional fish biologist. During the second week of March, boat anglers from the I-5 Bridge downstream averaged one chinook per 14.6 rods. Catches and effort should build rapidly, Hymer predicts. On March 13, a total of 700 boats and 650 bank anglers were counted on the lower Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream. Anglers can keep an eye on incoming spring chinook numbers by checking Bonneville Dam fish counts on the Internet. As of March 11, only 87spring chinook had been logged at the dam, compared to the recent 10-year average of 700 fish by that date. "The upriver spring chinook are definitely tracking behind what we'd expect to see by this point, but there may be a couple reasons for that," Hymer said noting the Columbia's water temperatures dipped to 35 degrees in January, and just recently reached 44 degrees, and that this year's run is mostly young age-class fish-four year olds that typically arrive later in the season than 5-year-old fish. Working in favor of anglers, the Columbia is running relatively low and clear with visibility of up to seven feet. Some chinook catches have been made on the lower Columbia tributaries, including the Lewis, Kalama and Cowlitz rivers. Several additional areas opened for spring chinook March 16, including Wind River, Drano Lake and the mainstem river from the I-5 Bridge upstream to McNary Dam (except the portion of Bonneville Pool from the Tower Island powerlines to Bonneville Dam, which remains closed). Meanwhile, the number of late-arriving winter steelhead have been increasing on the Cowlitz River, and some good opportunity also exists on the Kalama River. Smelt have made a reappearance in the Cowlitz River, but anglers "have to kind of hunt and peck to find them," Hymer says. "It's best to call ahead for a current smelt report before starting out on any long trips," he added, referring to WDFW's recorded information on the best smelt prospects, which can be reached by dialing (360) 696-6211 and pressing *1010. Sturgeon fishing has been fairly slow although some catches have been made in Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day pools. Catches should also increase on the lower Columbia as the water warms and the smelt complete their spawning cycle and die. Walleye have provided a bright spot for anglers-fishers in The Dalles Pool averaged 1.5 walleye per rod during the second week of March, while John Day Pool fishers caught one walleye for every three rods. For tips on where and how to catch walleye, check out the Walleyes in Washington page of the department's web site. With warming water temperatures, fishers are also beginning to see some bass in the creel from the pools. And trout fishers should have plenty to look forward to with recent plants of 10,500 half-pound brown trout in Lacamas Lake and another 1,000 in Klineline Pond.
- Wildlife viewing: Although plenty of bird species are on hand to remind viewers of the start of spring, few sightings are more gratifying than the first glimpse of a hummingbird in the backyard. One Tweeters website correspondent reports spotting the first rufous hummingbird of the season March 9, on his property at the mouth of the Columbia Gorge in western Skamania County. And branching out from birds, another Tweeters report from the south portion of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge advises: "If anybody wants to watch river otters, this is the place." During a March 12 visit to the observation blind at Rest Lake the wildlife watcher enjoyed the sight of three otters through his spotting scope for half an hour or more as they swam, dove and fished together. "I inferred that they were cooperatively fishing, by herding fish against the stands of submerged weeds whose tops were showing above the water," he wrote. "They were having lots of success; I was starting to feeling full just watching all the fish they were eating."
Eastern Washington:
- Fishing: March 31 marks the end of rainbow trout fishing at the region's winter-only lakes, and one in particular is still producing nice catches - Fourth of July Lake on the Adams-Lincoln county line continues to yield 13 to 20-inch rainbows. Other trout-stocked lakes that opened March 1 are just getting warmed up (literally and figuratively) and catch rates are rising by the day. Coffeepot Lake in Lincoln County is producing limits (two trout daily) of up to 20-inch rainbows. WDFW enforcement officer Lenny Hahn reported anglers also having fairly good success at Amber Lake in Spokane County. "Anglers need to remember that Amber is catch-and-release only right now and has selective gear rules," Hahn said. "Also, unless you're disabled, you can not park down by the Amber boat ramp." The Washington State Parks' Columbia Plateau Trail parking lot is adjacent to the Amber Lake access and has caused some confusion among anglers about what parking permit is required; all anglers need only display WDFW's access decal in their motor vehicle. Tucannon River impoundments in Columbia County -- Beaver, Big Four, Blue, Deer, Rainbow, Spring, and Watson lakes - continue to provide nice catches of 8- to 10-inch rainbows and a few 1-1/4-pounders. Hatchery steelhead fishing is heating up on Snake River tributaries like the Tucannon, Touchet and Grand Ronde rivers, all which remain open through April 15.
- Wildlife viewing: Migration-weary tundra swans seem to be everywhere there's water now, reports WDFW wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson. The largest concentration recently reported is at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge southwest of Spokane, where at least 1,500 tundra swans are using Long Lake. Those birds can be seen by hiking or bicycling the Columbia Plateau Trail. There are also about 75 swans on Philleo Lake, just east of the refuge. Lesser numbers are gathered on Peone Prairie north of Spokane near Deadman Creek and in the wetlands at the Cheney rodeo grounds. Further north in the region, Calispel Lake in Pend Oreille County and various spots along the Pend Oreille River are traditionally good areas to see hundreds of tundra swans. WDFW wildlife biologist Dana Base reports the return of western and mountain bluebirds, tree and violet-green swallows, Say's phoebes and spotted towhees to northeast Washington. "I think this is the last chance to get new nest boxes installed or existing boxes cleaned out for this nesting season," Base said. "Many of these birds, plus the resident species like chickadees are actively searching out nest sites at this time." WDFW's Chief Joseph Wildlife Area in Asotin County has very visible elk now. "We've been seeing two to three different bands of elk every day near the headquarters buildings," reports area manager Bob Dice. "On the 14th I observed just over 120 elk total." WDFW habitat biologist Jeff Lawlor observed a bald eagle making or re-building a nest in the top of a ponderosa pine right on the Ford Fish Hatchery grounds. "Seems an osprey abandoned the nest a few years ago and the eagles moved in this spring," Lawlor said. Lawlor, who was at the hatchery to help mark fish, also relayed the story of a hatchery rainbow trout that had escaped the raceway and had been living in the drain pipe system for about four years. "While living in total darkness it had lost all of its color," Lawlor said. "Now it's been retrieved and its color is coming back."
- Hunting: Spring wild turkey hunters should now be out scouting for birds and securing permission to hunt the many private lands they reside on. The season is April 15 - May 15, and the majority of turkeys harvested come out of northeast and southeast Washington.
North Central Washington:
- Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Jeff Korth says the Columbia Basin's many March 1-opening waters are "still pumping out rainbow trout." The selective fisheries at Lenice and Nunnally lakes, which have both rainbow and brown trout, and Lake Lenore, which has cutthroat trout, are also doing well, Korth reports. The Seep Lakes Wildlife Area, south of Potholes Reservoir, also has many year-round fisheries that provide some very good early season fishing. Korth encourages anglers to "go exploring, but read the regulations pamphlet because there are some Seep lakes that do not open for business until April 1."
- Wildlife viewing: Thousands of sandhill cranes have descended on the Columbia Basin's agricultural region in their traditional feeding and resting stopover on their way to breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. Randy Hill, Columbia Basin National Wildlife Refuge biologist, reports that their numbers will build to a peak of near 15,000 by the first of April. The seventh annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival is March 26-28, and although many viewing tours and presentations may already be full, there is still lots to do and see and learn. Hill says if you don't get in on a festival tour, you can cruise the backroads virtually anywhere between I-90 on the north and the Tri-Cities on the south, and Hwy. 395 on the east and the Columbia River on the west, and find groups of cranes. The greatest numbers use cornfields near the refuge. The cranes aren't the most numerous bird concentration in the Basin, but they are probably the most spectacular. At up to four feet tall, with up to a 7-1/2-foot wingspan, these silvery gray birds with red crown patches are definitely one of Washington's star attractions. Several thousand geese, ducks and shorebirds are also in the area now, especially around Potholes Reservoir. For more information on the crane festival, see their website on the Internet or call (509)488-2802 ext.100.
South Central Washington:
- Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins says spring weather has fishing really picking up, and the region's hatchery rainbow trout-stocked waters are ready for the many lines being cast. WDFW enforcement officers' recent checks at Myron, FioRito, Mattoon and Wenas lake, and I-82 pond showed lots of effort and fair success. More trout will be stocked in area waters the first week of April. Anglers can pick up a copy of the trout-stocking schedule at the WDFW Southcentral Regional Office in Yakima at 1701 S. 24th Ave., (509) 575-2740 or a summary version on the WDFW website. Cummins reminds anglers that although most of the lakes in the Yakima and Kittitas valleys are open to fishing year-round, there are special regulations on some waters. Check the WDFW Sport Fishing Rules Pamphlet for gear and catch limits. Cummins also noted an "unconfirmed report" that Mud Lake, one of Yakima County's selective gear rules waters, may have experienced a winter fish kill. "Bald eagles were observed eating fish at Mud Lake about the first of March when the lake was still about two-thirds frozen," Cummins said. "The reporting party returned a week later, fished the lake without success, but saw no dead fish. My experience last year was that there was excellent fishing for nice carryover rainbow in March. It remains to be seen if this was a complete kill." WDFW enforcement officers have recently investigated complaints of fishermen using bait on the Yakima River - a reminder that the waterway has a bait prohibition and other special rules. Sturgeon fishing pressure is strong in the Bonneville pool of the Columbia River; officers recently checked 26 anglers with one keeper sturgeon. Hatchery steelhead fishing is picking up on the mid-Columbia River near the Tri-Cities, especially in the Ringold bank fishery, which remains open through April 15.
- Wildlife viewing: WDFW regional wildlife program manager Lee Stream says that right on cue with St. Patrick's Day, "things are really greening up around here." Stream says deer, elk, and bighorn sheep are moving away from the green hay fed them throughout the winter and are very visible on the greening hills. "Some birds, like redtailed hawks, have started nesting and they're very visible now because there are no green leaves in the trees to hide them yet," Stream said. "Ground squirrels are coming out now to eat fresh green grass that they missed all winter, and when they do, hawks, falcons and eagles can see them and pick them off the green fields. Canada geese can be seen eating green grass now, too, but also look for them to begin their northward movements. Those that stay are starting their nests and will be paired up. There's lots happening, you just need to think 'green' and look for it!" WDFW's Oak Creek Wildlife Area manager John McGowan reminds shed antler hunters that the area around the elk feedsites is closed during March and April. Vehicle gates will open at 8 a.m. on May 1 and the area opens to horse and foot traffic at midnight that day. "This closure is in place to reduce disturbance to big game animals just coming out of winter stress," McGowan explained. "These animals need to graze for long periods on the early spring grasses, which are just beginning to grow." Local birders report the return of western and mountain bluebirds and several species of swallows.
